India, Oct. 22 -- Hundreds of protestors on Thursday staged sit-ins amid a day-long mass cease-work call following two days of street protests in Imphal valley districts against the killing of three Meitei farmers three days earlier amid a spike in ethnic violence in Manipur.

A 45-year-old Kuki man collecting bamboo shoots was killed, and at least six Kuki houses were set ablaze after the three Meiteis were killed in an ambush on Monday. The ambush was the first incident of violence between Meiteis and Kukis after July 13, when armed Kuki groups attacked Meiteis in Bishnupur's Torbung Bangla. In the last few months, at least 50 people have died in the state, mostly in Naga-Kuki clashes.

A committee formed in connection with the killing ...